Downy Charity Quilts for kids

Do you like doing charity projects? Like helping kids out? Downy does a charity program for quilts for kids in hospitals. I plan to do a few and they even have kits to send out so you can complete one along with possibly one from your stash. They aren't hard patterns or very big. They have specifications on the website here. Anyway thought I'd share because I've been looking for a charity I can donate to because of where I live we don't have a 'chapter' so I never know where to send them. But now I have a place. A home for my robot quilt :) I'm so glad to be helping out. So if you have spare fabric and time please consider doing this.

Ellen

Rice in hand...

Ha ha. I have my bowl of rice in front of me and I'm ready to blog. This might be a long one but I'll try and keep it short. My Janome is kinda, sorta, a little big co-operating with me today. Exciting news..I can finish that baby quilt. I'm also working on finishing two more kids quilts before Christmas. Go me! So as promised a million years ago my living redo...


This is the peeling of the paint lol. Yes I peeled this whole wall. Because the next wall I just painted over the red and it took me 5 coats. So instead I just decided to peel/scrape the paint off and save me a few coats. It peeled of pretty easily.




This wall was also red, I just painted over the top. These were the only red walls thank god I didn't paint all of them. What a pain!

So these are my now white walls. The light fixture in here is not my choice. I'm limited to my option for things because we rent. Let me tell you when my German landlords seen those red walls I think they had a heart attack. My TV wall isn't finished. I'm doing a frame wall there with all empty white frames. I might paint a blue box around the TV area. We'll see...
My influence for this room came out of no where. I just had a vision one day and here it is. I have more accessories going in here they just havent arrived yet.

Its a little messy due to my son so ignore that lol. Over all I love the blue and white. Our couch and chair was my husbands pick..obviously and I couldn't replace that so I just redid the pillows added some new curtains and accessories. Its really more beautiful than these pictures show :) I now have a sticker on the back wall and I'll have another on the TV wall. Instant update...add wall decals. They are awesome and there is such a wide variety. Target is one place you can find them. Also many etsy sellers have them. I wish I could pain my coffee table white but I don't think my hubby would let me :( Oh well. It is what it is. Its not dark anymore that's for sure. It really opened up this room to have it white.

I should have some quilts up soon! And my finished room in a few weeks I hope. I also re-did my sons room. Vintage airplanes.


Wooden letters that were in his baby room redone with airplane paper. Super easy just trace the letter on printed paper and glue to the front.

His curtains made by mommy which don't fit the window but we wont always live here with these weird german windows. Anyway that's his window. We also added a new rug and bed cover. I want to switch him to a twin size bed but we'll see how that goes. Maybe not just yet.

So my son says 'come play' even though I need to clean! He just doesn't understand this. Lol. Have a wonderful Sunday and rest of the week. One more week till Daddy comes home! He's been gone 4 weeks now. So we're suffering :(

Who doesnt like free fabric?

The Fabric Shoppe is giving away free fabric on her blog! If you're interested in the free fabricc giveaway go here and take a look. Her blog is also very beautiful so check out the rest also.

As for me I'll be blogging about my living room makeover very soon :)

A baby is Born

My best friend had her baby girl Aliyah today 7 lbs 11 oz (i think). I'm over joyed at this event and I couldn't wait to get home to call her and see how she was doing. She's great the baby is great and beautiful. I wont post a picture, she might not like that :D What makes this the most amazing thing is that today is my birthday. I feel like an aunt to this little darling so its awesome that she was born today, on my birthday. I cried...lol. More good news I went shopping today...found some things for my living room makeover. A light candle stick and some glass thingies. Ha ha. Once I put my whole room together I will post pictures. I'm checking out Urban Outfitters right now, they're stuff is wonderful. I could spend a fortune. Anyway aside from my husband being gone still for another week, my birthday was awesome. Two of my good friend went shopping with me, we had cake and coffee (a German tradition on occasions) and then ordered Chinese. Perfect, minus the hubby. I will try to post some pics soon. I've been working on my robot rail fence. I love it. I just have to sew some blocks together.

Oh and I got baby's stuff for his room all set up...believe it or not he was very very upset with me changing all his stuff to airplane stuff. He's over it now but he was very mad for a short time. Enough rambling. Have a wonderful upcoming weekend.

Quilt Festival...Fall 2009

Park City Girl is having a Quilters Festival...again. She did one in spring also that I caught the end of and couldn't enter. So here I am. Blogging again tonight :)











I'm up late anyway might as well make it good. So the quilt I'm entering is a basic disappearing nine patch I did for my MIL for her birthday this year..she turned 50. But it was the first quilt I ever tried an all over free motion quilting on. It was about a twin size.I tried to do feathers they turned out more like paisley?! All in all it was a great experience to free motion like that on my little Brother machine. I got over my big fear of free motion and it turned out pretty good. I haven't quilted a long time. Well probably two years now. I started when my husband was deployed to Iraq, i really needed a hobby and this is what I chose. Fabric is by Moda. Outer borders by Connecting threads.


An up close and personal of the quilting

The quilting could have been so much better but for my first big piece and not knowing what I'm doing...not bad.

PS if you can help quilting on a small machine...don't do it. You'll do more wrestling than anything else...on a good note you might build some muscles.

Operation Redecorate

I've been so busy since my husband is gone for 17 whole days!! I go crazy, so I'm going crazy redecorating. Or trying while chasing around my little monster. I started with my sewing room, then moving on to my sons room which will be vintage airplanes! He ♥ 's airplanes. Then the living room will get an update moving from gold and maroon so blue and white. But I have black couches so hopefully it'll all work. I want a zebra print chair for in there also. Moving on...I bought totally cute new fabric I'm making a rail fence with...my birthday is next week so I'm going shopping on good ol german economy. They have the most wonderful decor stores the stuff is so cheap. ♥ Love it ♥ So here are some pics to go with my spew. Is that how you spell that? Lol.


***Before***


***After***

Recovered my chair

Sewing machine cover

Adorable new fabric

I'm not done with my crafty space but its going. I'm just using fabrics I have laying around so it might not all match :) And I'm using up stash so I can buy more :D One of my husbands rules...of course. Have a wonderful weekend!

I ♥ Faces...Completely Candid

If I keep entering every week I just may win in the the next ten years right? Ha ha. I love doing this because taking pictures is purely a hobby for me which keeps it fun. And of course my favorite subject is the little monster himself...My son Landon. This week is 'Completely Candid' at I ♥ Faces. Let me tell you I have at least 15,000 pictures the last time I looked which was several months ago so finding this one off the top of my head of course makes it a favorite of mine. We were outside blowing bubbles and he was chasing them, simple as that. And he was one happy little boy, like usual. Its actually a little hard to pick a candid with toddlers because they will never pose for a camera :)


Come join the fun at I ♥ Faces

A season for Babys

It must be baby season. Everyone I know is pregnant or having their next little bundle of love. Not us though we decided to put that off for awhile till I get a degree in nursing or at least start...which I'm doing very soon. Just basics. I've had to many 'requests' for baby blankets right now from my family that knows people who are having baby's. Oh my! That's ok baby blankets are my favorite, so cute and little. Little being very good so it doesn't take a long time ;) I have a very cute tutorial for baby blocks and a tagged blanket too by Moda Bake Shop. I'm going to do a few sets of those for some friends too.

I also made a dress. Not the prettiest fabric I'll say that now, but the pattern was nice until I messed it up ha ha. Its the Socialite Dress by Anna Maria. Sew Mama Sew did a pattern review that was very very helpful to me. It didn't turn out too bad though. I just have to go back and add waste ties so that its not so big looking on me. The neckline on mine is up much higher than it should be. I'm not entirely sure why. Just know that when you're sewing the yoke you need to be accurate, that's where I messed up.

Our weather is rapidly approaching fall. Its still warm during the days but pretty chilly at night and all the leaves are starting to turn. I might take the little man outside for some pictures today. Cant believe my boy will be two in December. Time flys...

Gone so long

Who stays inside and blogs during summer? Not me apparently. I love doing this but I wish I had more time. I debated not keeping it up but I guess I'll keep trying. I need one constant in my life. Who knows soon I might just have things to blog about. Like depoyment :( We got word that my husband will more than likely deploy next summer sometime. It keeps running through my head and makes me more than sad trying to figure out how I'll explain this to a 2 year old. By that time Landon will be 2 1/2. I guess I'll hurdle that jump when I come to it. I havent been up to too much though still doing some quilting mostly hand stuff I can take outside and to the tv :) Enjoying the sunshine while it lasts which fells like not much longer. I'm super excited for fall though. My favorite time of year. All the colors and the decorating. I think landon will be buzz lightyear this year for halloween. I'm still trying to talk my husband into being woody ha ha. I'm hooked on a new show too. I've already watched seasons one and two of Mad Men. I'm hooked. I cant wait for all the new seasons of my favs to start this month. Even though I just have to download them on my slower than slow internet connection. Ok I'm done boring you. I'll leave you with a few pics. Shout out to my BFF Sara whom I know reads this :)

I ♥ Faces...Feet Week

It's I ♥ Faces...Feet Week. So normally its focus is on a face but this week is a little special. Focusing on...feet of course. I do not usually like feet, especially my own. But when I got a new camera and my son was still fairly young, I'd say around 9 months, we had to test the new camera and that means taking pictures of absolutely everything. This is one of my favorite photos and I have it framed on my wall, even though it has my very own feet in it. But baby's feet make it a cute pic :) I'll probably never win the spotlight on I ♥ Faces but it gives me good ideas of which of my pictures I should post on my blog. It makes me dig into my millions of photos and find the good ones. Without further ado...our feet.


If you're interested in taking part in I ♥ Faces contests just click that link and head on over. You can post entries Mondays and Tuesday...so you still have time! Its just something fun to do.

Toddler Free to good home

He's 19 months old, brown fur, blue eyes, cute as ever just very messy :) He's not house broken (aka potty trained), he's a picky eater, good with kids but not animals. He loves to help unload the dishwasher or sweep and mop the floors but chances are you're cleaning up after him anyway. He poops approximately 4 times a day, you'd be lucky if he eats a full meal but he will drink juice till he cant drink anymore, providing you let him. He requires 24 hour round the clock attention and I'm not exaggerating. He still wakes up at night and wants to sleep in Mommy's bed. Which I gladly let him do so I can get some sleep. He's not done teething yet. He loves to read, watch baby Einstein but cant do either one for more than 15 minutes. He loves going for long walks and playing in the yard. So big yard is necessary. Theres not too much more I can say about this little bundle of hellion (I mean joy). Nobody told me raising toddlers was sooo much fun!! PS you can have the dog too :)

This is for comedic purposes only, my son drives me crazy but I love him way too much to give him away :)

Yes I did do that.

I posted a tutorial that I found a few weeks back for an applique pillow...well I did do that. Surprisingly I finished something, not that it was anything big approximately 21" square but that's beside the point :) I've been dragging lately with my quilting and it felt good to finish something regardless of how big. Now if I could just finish my hubby's and move on. You can find the tutorial here and she has so many other patterns that are too adorable not to do so I encourage you to check out her blog and buy some patterns. They really are just adorable. So here is my finished 'pillow' that I actually just did as a wall hanging, for now. I might turn it into a pillow later. For now its just a pretty quilt on my wall.

Beachy

Some pictures from our trip to the beach while we were visiting Washington. Landon absolutely loved it. He wouldn't stay out of the water. The weather was not perfect but it was warm anyway. Much like the weather is here today. I just wish some sun would come out. Instead its 85 and cloudy which always means muggy. Of course. The husband and I are trying to clean out unneeded things out of our house. There is lots of it. If you ever feel like your house is cluttered or messy watch the show 'Clean House' I believe its on TLC. Great for making you feel better about yourself lol. Have a good 4th of July weekend everyone.

A few little things...

So since I've been back in Germany I've done a few small things, nothing grand. I'm going to be working on several baby things for my BFF who lives in Washington. We really reconnected on my trip back home which was awesome. We just click its great. She's having a few complications with her pregnancy so extra thoughts and prayers would be spectacular. I'm so super worried about her and that little girl. Its so wonderful she's having a girl though because I really want one too so I can do all this little cutesy stuff but beings we aren't exactly ready for that I get to do all of for Sara. Yay :) Anyway my projects





These are magnets I did. The top ones are fabric covered buttons that I covered myself with scraps of fabric and fabric covering button kits you can buy at Joann's or any craft store I'm sure. Then just glue a magnet on the back. These certainly aren't new I've seen them just about everywhere. So cute though. Then glass marble magnets you put a picture behind them, I've been cutting mine out of a Hancocks fabric catalog, you can find a tutorial here. I've been using rubber cement and super glue which is turning out good so far.

This is a round robin I'm participating in. I did the last round starting with the black borders. Then all the way out to the pink with the friendship stars. I think (personally) it turned out awesome. I kept sing TNT dynamite to my husband lol. We're doing four rounds so it gets passed around to four people then you add a row at the given dimensions. Fun fun. If you're a quilter I encourage you to take part in one sometime. It really expands your creativity.

So this is what I get for updating my blog all in one shot. Too long of a post. I'll save the rest for later. Thanks for reading.

Headed back to Germany soon

So I know I haven't posted *at all* but Saturday I'll be headed back home (thank god) to Germany. I know hubby misses us like no other and we really miss him and home. Landon is finally sleeping normally and now we're leaving in two days. Uh. Go figure. So I will get back to my crafting/sewing life and I'll be happy :) Visiting is nice and all but when you move out on your own, that's your home and you miss it when you're away. And boy do I miss is. Landon had tons of fun at Nana's house though so that's good. We went to the beach for the very first time. He absolutely adored it I've never seen him like this. Just so happy. He's learning 3-4 new words a day and he can do things I ask him to. Growing kids are amazing. I'm definitely posting photos once I get home.

Little Runner

Yesterday our squadron had a mile run. Well if the soldier brought his family he only had to run one mile if not he had to run ten. Needless to say, I was there with my soldier. So I had to get up 6 am to go run a mile. Number one I haven't been up at 6 am since I don't know when number two I don't run. EVER! I've been know to do a little Pilate's or yoga here and there but run...not in my blood. However, it wasn't half as bad as I expected it to be. I ran/walked a mile in 12 minutes. In high school I walked one in about 19 so that's pretty good :D Oh and my little runner is all dressed up in his Adidas jogging suit even though he was in a stroller. Haha. He's cute though.

On another note...I'm going back to the US of A to visit my grandmother, leaving Tuesday. I'll be back the 20th. I'm not sure how much blogging I'll get done but I'm hoping to get lots of quilting done. And shopping of course. Going back to America is like a big shopping spree for me, being stuck over here in Germany where I can only order things online is tough. Especially when it comes to fabric. Its awful. Just take my word for it. Until we meet again, have a wonderful June.

Pictures and Giveaways

I just finished editing some pics. I recently realized my son, bless him, has been sleeping all through the night for several nights. He's 17 months old so imagine my excitement. He hasn't always woken up but since he was about 11 months old he has, yes its been a joy. Anyway with all that sleeping throughout the night I'm up at 1 am photo editing, and entering blog giveaways. These pictures really show how genuinely happy my son is, awesome moments...




As for the giveaway, its not my giveaway but there's about a billion at Sew mama, Sew! go enter them all!!!

Another awesome giveaway...A Vintage style hat box, its adorable by the way. Find it here.

Actual Sewing

I guess beings my blog is 'supposed' to be about sewing and quilting I better do a post on that subject :D I've been researching hair accessories because this is my newest interest. I found a super cute reversible one here, super easy and very cute. Little girls and adults. Here's my two I made today








Next up is an adorable blog I found in the process of looking for hair stuff. I cant get over how cute her stuff is. She is from Australia. You can find her blog here, she has tutorials on some of her stuff and several places sell her patterns. The pillow is def. on my to do list. Its just too cute.

Donate!

Cancer is something that runs all through out my family in many forms. So its something I'm very serious about helping out with. Here is a story of a mom who's son was just diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and she needs every ones help so if you can please visit her page here and help out. If not maybe just leave her some positive wishes. Thank you. Happy Memorial Day.

Pool Party

We had so much fun outside yesterday. We woke up, hurried to get ready so we could run downstairs and play. I had to find a bubble recipe first though and something to use for a wand. Who knew, dish soap, corn syrup and water makes bubbles. So we spent all day outside, except for lunch we had to come back upstairs. It was truly so relaxing and wonderful though. We rarely have Daddy home to do things like that. I'm so glad though because I got some great shots. No silhouette shots for next weeks I ♥ Faces challenge :( I just cant seem to get a good one. So far today its looking beautiful too. So I'm sure we'll be outside most of the day. In a way this nice weather is bad because I CAN NOT sew inside when its so nice outside. I take my hand sewing outside but I have so much backed up I need to get done. And I leave for the states in 9 days. Anyway here's my best shots from yesterday, this is out of 500 photos. Enjoy. I hope everyone is having as nice weather as us here in Germany.